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Serpent Spear Douluo stared at the bottomless ice chasm before him. From its depths emanated a dangerous aura that made his heart hesitate; he did not dare rush in recklessly.
"Damn it, that brat got away. If the Fourth Worship learns of this, even if I don't die, I'll be skinned alive."
Just as Serpent Spear Douluo was weighing whether to enter the abyss and pursue Oscar, Porcupinefish Douluo came storming back, his face twisted with fury.
"Brother She Long, did you catch that little brat?"
A trace of embarrassment flickered across Serpent Spear Douluo's face, but he did not try to hide the truth.
"No. He fell into this chasm. And you? Did you capture the old poison's granddaughter?"
Porcupinefish Douluo's expression shifted, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"Can fate really be this strange? She fell into a chasm too."
The two men locked gazes, each reading the incredulity in the other's eyes.
"No way!"
Their voices overlapped in astonishment. They had assumed they could at least seize one important figure to use as leverage against Lan Minghua. Who would have thought that, by sheer coincidence, both Oscar and Dugu Yan would simultaneously fall into bottomless abysses in different places?
Both Douluos knew the other was not lying. But now they were faced with two choices.
First, they could risk descending into the abyss to hunt Oscar and Dugu Yan.
Second, they could abandon the abyss entirely and instead chase down Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran.
After a moment of silence, Porcupinefish Douluo spoke.
"These chasms are bottomless. Even if we go down, there's no guarantee we'll find them. Better to hunt the other two—it'll save time and effort."
Serpent Spear Douluo nodded.
"Agreed. As long as we bring someone back, the Fourth Worship should have no reason to complain."
With a glance of mutual understanding, they chose to give up on Oscar and Dugu Yan, and instead set out to capture Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran.
Lan Minghua, however, was not overly concerned. He had left safeguards on all four of his disciples; their lives were not in danger. What annoyed him instead was how long he had searched without finding even the faintest trace of the Mirror Shadow Beast.
"Something's wrong—beyond wrong. With my current strength, my spiritual sense can easily cover the entire Frozen Forest. How could I still not find it?"
Suddenly, he recalled Oscar and Dugu Yan falling into the abyss. His awareness could not penetrate beneath the snow and ice.
"Could it be…the Mirror Shadow Beast is hiding underground?"
In an instant, realization dawned.
He had been fixated on the surface of the Frozen Forest, neglecting the world beneath the ice.
This land remained frozen year-round, the underlying layers of ice unimaginably thick. Many powerful ice-type soul beasts dwelled there, hidden beneath the frozen crust—such as the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, the kin of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts ranked seventh.
Compared to them, creatures like the Ice Crystal Snow Bear and the Cold Howling Moon Wolf were nothing more than prey.
(Note: Personally, I feel that the Extreme North in Douluo Dalu II corresponds roughly to the location of the Frozen Forest.)
Thus, countless powerful ice-type soul beasts might be concealed under the glacial layers.
Lan Minghua smiled faintly, his heart at ease. Perhaps he should descend into one of those abysses himself—he might even encounter a ferocious beast or two.
But first, his gaze shifted toward three distinct auras. A mocking smile tugged at his lips.
"Then let me deal with you three annoying flies before anything else."
Before the words had fully faded, his figure vanished.
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran had masked their auras, hiding deep within the coniferous forest.
But the Frozen Forest, though not as terrifying as the Star Dou Great Forest, was still rife with soul beasts. Despite their utmost caution, they were eventually discovered.
Having just escaped the pursuit of Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, the two girls now found themselves hunted again—this time by soul beasts.
It truly was a relentless game of predator and prey.
By a twist of fate, both girls, fleeing separately, ended up drawn together again.
Yet the roars of the soul beasts also drew the attention of the two Douluos.
In an instant, they appeared before Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran, cutting off their escape.
"Found you." Serpent Spear Douluo sneered, his spear aimed directly at them.
Porcupinefish Douluo bared his teeth in a cruel smile.
"Be obedient and surrender. Spare yourselves needless suffering."
Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran stood back to back, their eyes filled with despair.
Ahead, two Title Douluo blocked their path. Behind, soul beasts closed in.
It was a true deathtrap, ten chances out of ten leading to annihilation.
"Senior Sister…with no sign of Brother or Younger Sister, could it be they've already fallen to those two Title Douluos?" Meng Yiran gave a bitter laugh.
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze was resolute. Oscar's face flashed through her mind. Her voice rang firm.
"No. They are not dead. Our master would never stand by and watch."
She knew Lan Minghua well enough. Though he often claimed he would not intervene if they failed to meet his standards, in truth he was all sharp words and soft heart. When it comes to his disciples, he gave everything.
Meng Yiran, having been with him for less time, did not yet understand this.
Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, watching the girls stubbornly resist despair, felt a dark idea stirring within them.
It was not lust—not base desire that moved them. These old men were not beasts ruled by their lower halves.
Their "evil thought" was simply this: to watch the girls torn apart by soul beasts—limbs broken, bodies ruined—before stepping in at the last moment to spare their lives.
"Roar!!!"
But the soul beasts themselves cared nothing for such games. With prey within reach, they would never retreat. They charged directly at Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran.
At that very instant, a sword aura split the sky, cleaving down from above. In the blink of an eye, the charging beasts were shredded into fragments.
Blood spattered through the air, only to freeze instantly into crystalline crimson snowflakes that drifted down, dyeing the ground red.
Lan Minghua's figure emerged slowly from the blizzard, stepping forward until he stood before Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran.
His gaze was calm, his tone indifferent.
"My disciples are not prey for mere soul beasts. Nor are they prey for the likes of you two wastes."
At once, a torrent of sword aura erupted from him, surging skyward.
In an instant, the blizzard above was torn apart, scattered like shredded cloth.
The sword aura roared like dragons, sweeping across heaven and earth, as though to cleave the Frozen Forest itself in two.
Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo felt the overwhelming pressure of his spirit power and killing intent. Their faces drained of color, eyes wide with terror.
"This sword aura… compared to him, even the so-called strongest attacker, Sword Douluo Chen Xin, is like a raw recruit! No wonder he forced Yue Guan and Gui Mei into that state!"
They knew well the reputation of Yue Guan and Gui Mei—two of the strongest Title Douluo in the Elder Hall.
By contrast, their own strength ranked near the very bottom.
Lan Minghua, unconcerned with their thoughts, raised two fingers into a sword seal at his chest. Sword energy swirled around him, threatening to pierce the very heavens.
Amid the storm of snow, his figure loomed impossibly tall, like a Sword God descending to earth.
The two Douluos panicked, fleeing in the direction of Lion Douluo while shouting at the top of their lungs:
"Fourth Worship, save us!"
Lan Minghua's fingers traced through the air as he whispered:
"Sword Five—Wind and Snow Escorting Guanyin to the Western Heavens."
At once, the wind and snow froze in midair. Time itself seemed to halt.
Then, countless blades of aura burst forth like a tempest, merging into a colossal sword shadow that pierced the skies.
Where the sword shadow passed, the storm retreated. Heaven and earth were reduced to a single radiant stroke of sword light, as though to split the world itself apart.
Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, overwhelmed by that unstoppable force, sank into the depths of despair.
They fled with all their strength, but the sword aura pursued relentlessly, as though locked onto their very souls.
"Boom—!"
The sword fell. Silence consumed the land.
Moments later, the blizzard returned, sweeping over everything and erasing all traces.
(End of Chapter)